


Kindling

by Puffinpastry



Series: DragonSpawn [2]
Category: Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Dragon Quest XI Act II Spoilers, Dragon mythology - Freeform, Dragonspawn AU, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24905038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puffinpastry/pseuds/Puffinpastry
Summary: Short snips and drabbles that didn’t quite fit into FireBreathing.
Relationships: Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI)
Series: DragonSpawn [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703605
Comments: 22
Kudos: 46





	1. Flurry Feathers

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place right before the end of chapter 12

As many of them as Erik has accumulated during their travels, the questions he bothered to ask El about being a dragon were few and far between. 

Sometimes he just felt like they didn’t matter too much, that he already had the important information. 

Sometimes he felt like a question wouldn’t be accepted well, or he’d be afraid to make some sort of dragon faux-pas. 

Though he knew that was a silly fear to have. El wouldn’t ever be upset with him for something as simple as an accidentally insensitive question.

Though like this, in a quiet moment with only their friends, warm from the rays of the setting sun, warm from his ale, and warm from El’s love, he had no such worries. In a lull in conversation, he decided to ask. “Hey, El?” There wasn’t any reason he needed to grab his attention, already practically in his lap, one of El’s arms slung around his shoulder and a wing curled around. “Do you have a hoard?” Erik wasn’t sure what brought on the question. But he wasn’t the only one interested.

“A what?” El asked, confused. His brow was furrowed, the light flush on his cheeks only highlighting the dusting of golden scales on his face. Erik nearly forgot his question, getting lost in just  _ looking. _

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Veronica piped up from the other side of the circle they all sat in. “Do we really need to see this? A  _ hoard,  _ El. Dragons start them as soon as they find something that catches their eye. Do you have one?”

El didn’t seem any less lost. “A hoard…” Maybe it was time to cut them both off. “Oh!” El’s eyes lit up and his wings lifted, nearly clipping Erik with the spine. “You mean a collection. That’s what Mum always called it.”

“So you do!” Sylvando sat upright, “It’s always gems and gold in the stories, is that what yours is made of, dear?”

“Treasure like that, in a place like Cobblestone?” Veronica snorted. “Right, just plucking gems from the cornfields! What is it, El?”

El’s wings folded back down and the tips of his ears drooped. Suddenly looking embarrassed. He mumbled his answer.

“What was that?”

El tried again, only marginally louder. “...It’s feathers.”

“Aww!” Sylvando cooed as Veronica burst out laughing.

El’s face was bright red, and Erik almost felt bad for asking. He thought it was cute, too, but didn’t dare voice that.

_ Sorry.  _ He offered silently, squeezing El’s hand in his. 

“I’m sorry,” Jade spoke up from where she sat, “But a dragon’s hoard is supposed to be made of treasure, right? What made you decide to collect feathers?”

El shrugged. “I don’t know. I just did.”

“It’s not always valuable.” Serena began to explain, “But it’s a treasure for the dragon that keeps it. Dragon whelps will collect anything they can find. Rocks, twigs, anything. It’ll hold value to them.”

Conversation ebbed more as the evening gave way to night, and soon enough one by one they all retired to their own beds.

“Why did you want to know about my hoard?” El asked as they settled into their own bed, Erik pulled close to El’s chest, and El’s tail curled around his ankle. 

“I dunno.” Erik half-shrugged, “Just wanted to know.”

El was silent for a moment. “I don’t remember much about it, but Mum said that one day I came home with my pockets stuffed full of chicken down from the molting hens. She made me leave it all outside, but after that she started finding where I’d taken to hiding them. Piles under the bed, in drawers…”

Erik listened quietly, trying to hide a small smile at the picture El was painting. It wasn’t often Erik asked questions, but even less often that El spoke of his village fondly. 

“I don’t know how many feathers I have now, or why I decided that I liked them enough to hoard them.”

“Is it all chicken feathers?”

El laughed softly. “No. It’s whatever I can find. Hawk, quail, waterfowl… Some from monsters.”

“You still collect them?” 

“I do.” El said. “I think I picked up more than a few while we were in the Champs Sauvage.”

“Then I’ll start looking, too.” Erik decided. “If I find any feathers, they’re yours.”

“You don’t have to do that. It’s not like I need them.” El said, but there was no mistaking the warm feeling echoing down their link. “But, thank you.”

~~

Months ago.

That conversation had been an entire season ago. El didn’t know where Erik was, or if he was even alive at all. 

They never did find any more feathers.

But here he stood, just outside of Phnom Nohn, a large peacock feather that Sylvando had given him held in his hands.

There wasn’t anything like it in his hoard.

… If it even still existed. 

This should feel good.

This should make him feel happy, to have something so lovely and special to add to his collection. 

But… He could hardly even care. 

He’d just fought back a dragon and taken everything in it’s hoard back to its rightful owners, but he felt no pride in his success.

He’d found Rab, and Sylvando now, too.

That should bode well for the likelihood that everyone else had survived the fall. 

But there was something so terrible in the pit of his stomach, like he was staring out at the wall of an approaching storm.

There was something coming, and he could feel it in his bones. 

“Darling?” Sylvando said, coming up behind him, “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine.” El lied, letting his hands drop to his sides, the quill of the feather still held tight. 

“Come on,” Sylv placed a hand on his shoulder, “It’s a celebration, try to take your mind off of things a while.”

El nodded, and let Sylv lead him back into town, just to see a flash of blue, and the beginnings of a fight.


	2. Kill it With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are a few things that every dragon should know to fear and avoid.  
> Erik knows iron tops off the list, but... Centipedes can’t actually be that dangerous, right?  
> Takes place during chapter nine of Firebreathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely inspired by the Dragon Keeper trilogy and Long Danzi being terrified of centipedes.

In Erik’s eyes, people who chose to live in Gallopolis were crazy. 

Who in their right mind would  _ willingly  _ live and work in a climate like that? The scalding heat of the day was enough to make Erik see stars, to make him light-headed and dizzy just by being outside.

But the people of  _ Phnomn Nohn?  _ They were no better! Worse, in fact. It may not get  _ quite  _ as hot, but with the addition of the humidity…

That was one thing he did miss about Sniflheim, with each and every town he had passed through. 

The weather was an entirely different kind of extreme, and while the climate did still try to kill you, it at least did it in a way he could do something  _ about.  _

He could bundle up in as many coats and furs as it took back home, but there wasn’t anything he could do about this heat. 

He did have the set of clothes that El had forged, the… Swindler’s something-or-other, he had called it.

The heat must be taking a toll on his mind, if he couldn’t even recall the full name.

He’d already shed the cape, the needless extra fabric draped over his arm instead. 

It helped. 

Sort-of.

Cicadas that should have died off for the season weeks ago sang their repetitive song that only seemed to aid the heat visibly radiating off of the stone pathing.

Erik wasn’t the only one suffering. Nearly everyone else walked just as doubled over as Erik was, heat-exhaustion just minutes away.

Save for El and Sylvando.

At least it made sense for Sylv to be a little less affected. Living in the desert for months on end would build up at least  _ some  _ resistance. 

But even they were relieved when they all finally stopped their trek for a more than well-earned break.

Less than halfway to town, and all but one of their party sprawled on in the most shade they could find, water canisters drained, half-drank, half-upended over their heads.

Except for El.

They were all dressed as lightly as they could manage, but El sat upright, out of the shade, eyes closed and head tipped back in the sun, long-sleeved Black turtleneck still on, sat on one of the many white stones that jutted from the ground. 

If they waited here much longer, he’d surely fall asleep like that. And as much as Erik wanted to reach the next town and settle down somewhere that wasn’t directly in the blazing sun… He didn’t quite mind the idea of waiting here. Just for a little longer. 

El was as happy as he could be, a lizard basking in a sunbeam. But even so.

“How do you stand this?” Erik asked, pushing back up off the ground. He wasn’t ready to keep moving, wasn’t even ready to leave the marginally cooler shade that the towering ruin provided, but he could move just a little closer to the edge. Just for a bit.

One blue eye cracked open. If El had been feline rather than reptilian, he was sure that the dragon would be purring. “‘S nice.” El answered, wings stretching out wide, catching the sun with a dazzling shimmer, drawing in the sun’s heat like a butterfly’s. 

_ Very  _ nice, clearly. El looked more relaxed than Erik had seen him… Ever, really. 

“The cold season is starting, but it’s still warm, here.”

Right. El wasn’t just  _ like  _ a lizard basking. It would be harder for him to keep up with the others once the cold settled in. 

Even if nothing else came from their visit at least this means that El would be getting one last good dose of sunlight. 

That- was actually very concerning, now that he thought about it. 

El had mentioned once before how he became just about useless in the winter months, passing the days in a half-asleep state, just barely above hibernation. 

Erik didn’t want to cause any unnecessary worrying, but if he didn’t have a plan, then they needed to know.

“What are you going to do,” Erik asked slowly, trying to find the best way to phrase the question, “once it starts snowing?”

“I’m not worried.” El answered, and Erik couldn’t tell if the new flush on his face was from the heat, or something else. “I was, but… Not anymore. Normally, I need the heat from the sun, or a fire. But…” He trailed off for a moment, looking at the ground, cheeks blazing red. “You’re very warm.”

Even feeling a tad bit flustered himself, Erik couldn't help but grin at El’s apparent mortification at the blatant fact he was going to be relying fully on Erik to keep warm through the winter. Though that wasn’t enough to satisfy Erik. If they were to end up anywhere near Sniflheim at any point, they would need more than just the bond. “Then how do you-” Erik didn’t get a chance to finish his question. 

The man that had been seated on the rock was gone. 

“Hey!” He nearly fell back onto his ass as the small dragon threw all his weight at Erik without warning. “El- What-  _ Ow!” _

Wrapped around his shoulders, tail tight around his neck, El was holding as tight as he possibly could, tiny claws digging into Erik’s exposed skin. 

El gave no explanation for his sudden change, but the reason was loud and clear to Erik.

Fear, pure and stronger than Erik had yet felt it filled his mind. Terrified noises ringing inside his mind, words he couldn’t pick out and hissing like a snake loud in his ear.

_ Kill it!  _

“Kill  _ what?”  _ Erik said, trying to dislodge the dragon foot that covered his eyes, though he could hardly speak over the tail crushing his windpipe. “Get  _ off!” _

“What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

He could hear everyone around them get up, confused by the sudden change, and why Erik was suddenly in need of Sylvando’s help to pry El from around his neck, but the fact they were  _ helping  _ only left him more confused.

What in Yggdrasil’s name had scared El this badly, but didn’t seem to be even a noticeable threat to anyone else?

_ “Kill what?”  _ Erik demanded to know.

_ The centipede!  _ El finally explained.

“Centi-” Erik stopped struggling.  _ Centipede? _

As he stopped, so did El, no longer needing to fight to keep his claws dug into Erik’s shoulders.

With a single hand, he moved the flared out wing that blocked his vision. 

Sitting calmly on the rock El had been on, blissfully unaware of the stir it had caused, living its life without a care in the world, was a centipede.

It was a brownish-red color, multiple yellow legs, and bright red antenna. It was bigger than the little ones Erik had seen in the fields by Heliodor, sure, and he’d be lying if he said his stomach didn’t turn the  _ slightest  _ bit at the wriggling vermin, but even so-

“You’re afraid of  _ centipedes?” _ Erik asked flatly. He gave up on getting El off of him, resigned to having multiple tiny cuts and pricks on his skin. 

The rest of their group finally took notice of the bug, to varying degrees of repulsion, though not one even coming near to matching El’s panic.

Veronica, however, stomped over to the creature, plucking it from the stone with two fingers. 

Erik  _ felt  _ El’s stomach churn at the sight of the bug wriggling between her fingers, trying to escape. “Well, he’s scared with good reason.” Veronica said with a straight face.  _ Too straight.  _ “These things have got some nasty venom. For people, it’s just a bit of itching. But for  _ dragons…”  _ She trailed off meaningfully. 

El shuddered. 

She smirked.

“Well, it isn’t  _ deadly.  _ But you’ll want to keep an eye out for these anyway, El. But you would know that, wouldn’t you? Gotta watch your ears.”

_ Ears?  _ El’s voice squeaked in Erik’s head. It didn’t even occur to him that Veronica would be joking. 

Unable to hear him, and Erik unwilling to goad her joke on further, he hadn’t planned on responding. Ignore her, and she’ll tire of the joke eventually.

But not everyone had the same idea. 

“Ears?” Serena asked, “Veronica, what are you-”

“Oh, you wouldn’t know, would you?” Veronica cut her sister off before she could spoil her joke. “In Arboria, we keep these bugs out of town as much as possible. They love to crawl into dragon’s ears and eat their brains.”

Serena ripped into her immediately as an  _ audible  _ terrified sound escaped the little dragon, but the damage was done, joke or not.

Carrying El the rest of the hike to town wouldn’t have been so bad if his shoulders weren’t now red with both sunburn  _ and  _ claw marks.

It was going to be a  _ long  _ stay in this region. 


	3. First in Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flying, Erik had decided, was for crazy people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place between chapters 22 and 23

Flying, Erik had decided, was for crazy people.

Having eaten dirt for the  _ third time  _ since he’d begun… He was ready to call it a day.

It was too bad his teacher was more optimistic than any human being- well. More than  _ anyone at all  _ should be.

“That looked a lot better! You’re getting really close, now.” Erik stared blankly up at El from where he lay flat on his back in the sand. He didn’t accept El’s hand back up. 

At this point, overly hot out or not, he was content in his new home on the beach. 

He’d become a dragon easily enough, and from how he’d just  _ let  _ his limbs stay splayed out in the same way he’d crash-landed… Erik was already well on his way to becoming a starfish. 

Or maybe just a beached whale. 

“I don’t understand what’s so important about me learning to fly.” Erik said, not for the first time. Or the third. Or fifth. 

Flying in dragon form was easy enough. After a couple of kick-started take-offs, and one,  _ just one,  _ crash, he’d been wobbly, and a little slow, but he had it down. It made  _ sense.  _ There was  _ balance. _

But in  _ human  _ form?

Nope. Not at all. 

He didn’t know what to do with his arms. His legs just hung there, throwing off his weight distribution and for fuck’s sake wasn’t a tail meant to  _ improve  _ balance?

El made it look so damned  _ easy,  _ flitting around wherever he pleased, whenever he pleased. 

“There are some times you can’t change,” El began the same explanation over, coming to rest in the sand just behind where Erik’s head lay, and Erik regretted asking, “But still need to fly. And if you really want to be the one off hunting this winter, it’s a lot easier going through underbrush when you  _ aren’t  _ as long as a tree is tall.”

Erik closed his eyes against the sun as El sat back, going over each little pro and con of each form.

Really. The man spends two weeks with Krystalinda and comes back fancying himself an expert. As if he'd lived his whole life a dragon. Or something.

“Can’t you just fly us both home?” Erik asked, though he knew the answer would be ‘no.’ Wasn't any harm in trying, though. 

If he did fly them back home…

Well, maybe they’d just make it home in time before Mia scraped the stew pot clean. 

_ Mia  _ was a natural flier, because of course she was.

Erik smiled at his own wandering thoughts, and wasn’t prepared for the handful of sand that El dropped on his face. 

_ That  _ was enough to halt the starfish-transformation.

“Yeah, I  _ guess  _ I could fly us the fifteen minute trip back home.” El said, as if he was truly contemplating it while Erik shot up, spluttering and splitting to get all the sand from his mouth.

But Erik knew better.

This would be the fifth time they’d made the trip out to the Emerald coast, and each time, they made the walk home. 

Except for the second, but Erik didn’t like talking about the second.

If he was lucky, El would stop making fun of him about the second before Erik managed to shake all the seawater from his ears, but… A man can dream. 

“But I won’t.” El said, now for the  _ sixth  _ time. “One more shot?”

Erik glared daggers, hoping he looked at least halfway threatening.

With wet sand on his face. 

And in his hair.

And on his clothes.

And-

Oh, what was the point?

“Fine.” Erik gave in. “One more. But if I break my neck, you’re gonna be sorry.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.” El told him as he got up, and Erik finally accepted the offer to pull him back to his feet. “You’re hardly flying high enough for that.”

Shit-eating grin plastered over his face.

The bastard.

Just for that, Erik was going to break his own neck out of spite. 

Yeah.

That would show him. 

Five minutes later, and again flat out on the sand, El gave in and decided that Erik’s dignity had suffered enough for the day.

But he knew they’d be back the next.

And the next.

Just until Erik did manage to find his way.

And after that…

Well, they’d have the whole world at their fingertips. 


	4. Hindsight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper knew darkness. He’d been following it for the past twenty-some-odd years of his life, after all.   
> This was nothingness. On every level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during chapter 26.  
> Can be read as Hendrik/Jasper or not. Your choice.

Darkness.

Or - not quite.

Jasper knew darkness. He’d been following it for the past twenty-some-odd years of his life, after all. 

This was nothingness. On every level.

His face still hurt from that abomination’s claws. 

He was foolish to try and fight when he did. He hadn’t any idea how to use these infernal wings. 

But the boy shouldn’t have been able to, either!

He’d been trailing them for months, and not once had he shown any signs of being dragonspawn.

And for Mordegon to turn him into one of the disgusting half-breeds as well?

Complete betrayal.

And after he’d given absolutely everything.

Claws in his eyes and a sword in his back.

He felt rough fabric beneath his now-clawed hands. Cotton turned stiff and ragged from being washed time and time and time again. Straw beneath that. Wood even lower, and finally, stone.

The dripping of offage water into stagnant pools on the dungeon floor. 

Damp, cloying air. 

Beyond that… 

Nothing.

No longer a knight. No longer a Sentinel. No longer a proud pawn of the Lord of Shadows. 

A tail with hard, keeled scales curled in close.

No longer even human.

And what had he to even look forward to?

Sixty, seventy years of this cell? Of this nothing?

Of the sickening gruel and stale bread he was given twice a day?

He shouldn’t have begged Mordegon for power.

He should have remained on the ground and let himself die. 

The creak of a metal door.

The sound of heavy leather boots on the uneven floor.

Closer and closer, and Jasper’s heart began to thud.

He kept the flat look on his face, kept his head tilted to the ground. Wings tight to his back.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t even move as the footsteps came to a halt outside his cell.

The drips continued.

Keeping in time with the uneasy beating of his heart.

“Jasper.”

He didn’t move.

“It’s me.”

Nothing. 

There was the sound of rustling, and what Jasper could only assume was the sound of a sheathed sword hitting the ground. 

It was odd.

That was something he heard every day. Letting his own fall from his belt as he went about his nightly routine, but… 

everything was different now. 

He didn’t know how to recognize things he should. 

Silence stretched on.

He didn’t want to give in. He was stronger than this. 

He didn’t want to admit he was afraid. But he didn’t want to be alone, either. “Hen…drik?” His eyes were ruined, not his ears. But he still struggled. “Are you still there?”

“I am.” The voice came too loud, too close, and he jumped.

Immediately ashamed.

And lost for words.

“Why?” Hendrik spoke again, a single word carrying everything he wanted to say.

Everything he needed Jasper to understand. “Why would you…  _ Throw away  _ everything you ever worked for? Everything we had?”

Jasper held his tongue. He could tell Hendrik everything, but… It was no excuse.

Mordegon was gone, and for the first time in years, his head was clear.

He’d been fooled.

Youthful belligerence and the kind of jealousy only a child could maintain… Nurtured and twisted by a cruel hand.

None of this was Hendrik’s fault.

And yet some of that poison was still inside him.

“Why would you ever choose to follow that monster?”

“...You followed him, too.” The words forced their way out before he could stop them.

All these years, and he never grew up.

He stayed at the same level.

While everyone around him changed.

“I followed him because I thought he was the King.” Hendrik’s voice took on a dark edge. “If I had known what he was, I never would have followed his orders.”

“No, you wouldn’t have.” Jasper agreed, feeling something cruel and bitter rising up. “Not for long. You have no loyalty. You follow whoever suits you! You chased the Darkspawn for a year, and now you follow his commands? At least I took the time to think for myself before I joined Mordegon!”

“He is the Luminary. Not the-”

“It doesn’t matter.” Jasper spat. “I don’t care.” Fury and misery fought each other for control of the roiling sea of dejection in his stomach, and he didn’t care which won.

It didn’t matter anymore.

Nothing did.

Not to him.

“I don’t know why you’re even down here.”

“I...” Hendrik trailed off. “Where else would I be?”

_ Where else…  _ Anywhere. In the sunlight. The limelight. With the Luminary. The King. The Princess.

Everything he gained when he turned in Jasper.

Or… More accurately, when Jasper turned on him.

“You didn’t speak up for me.”

“Pardon?”

“When the King asked the Luminary how I should be punished, you never spoke.”

“My word would never have been taken.” Hendrik explained. “You are the closest friend I have, Jasper. Of course I would want you to be pardoned.”

Jasper froze.

“I let the Luminary speak for you because I knew he would keep you safe.”

“How?” Jasper croaked, “How could you know?”

“I do not know.” Hendrik answered. “I have not the words to explain, but I feel as though I’ve known him for a very long time.”

“What,” Jasper had to pause to swallow back the lump in his throat, but at the same time, he felt the beginnings of a smile tug on the corner of his lips, “You just woke up one morning and changed your mind?”

“It did feel that way, yes.”

Slowly, Jasper had begun to unfold himself from the corner he’d settled into. It was unconscious. Unaware of the way he’d so easily been calmed and placated, the way he’d been acting like a scared animal. 

He was still speaking harshly, Hendrik still being blunt… But that was their normal.

It had always been.

But there wouldn’t be any going back to it.

The king has pardoned him.

But he would still be spending his life in this cell.

At least until Carnelian changed his mind.

“It’s over.” Jasper breathed out. The truth all finally settled in.

Everything he’d done… What he had lost. What he had become.

No longer an eagle.

But a demon, trapped in a hell of his own making.

“But it is not too late.”

“How?” 

“It will be some time yet.” Hendrik began, “But I will come back. I promise to find a way to help you. The Luminary has given his word to assist, as well.”

There was too much to focus on at once.  _ Help  _ him? 

The Luminary had promised? After what all he’d done? But what stood out the most-

“Come  _ back?”  _ He’d only just gotten here. He was only just learning that Hendrik still held some foolish hope for him, why was he suddenly terrified for him to leave?

Jasper leaned carefully on his hands, not sure exactly where he was in relation to the walls, or the bars. 

Something warm on his hand.

Started for a second, but only a second.

Hendrik had laid a hand over his. “The Luminary has been called to action once more, and I have been asked to assist him.” He paused, as if he wasn’t sure if he trusted Jasper with this information. “Erdwin’s Lantern is falling.”

Oh.

_ Oh. _

Mordegon may have mentioned something about the foul thing. 

“‘Calasmos.’” 

“What-”

Jasper didn’t know why he was confessing. It wasn’t as though he even had much information, but… Again.

He hadn’t anything to lose.

“Mordegon called it Calasmos. I don’t know why, but he did.”

The hand withdrew.

“Wait!” Jasper reaches out for it, but couldn’t find what he sought. “Wait, please!”  _ Weak. Pitiful. _

“A healer is coming.” Hendrik said, but didn’t give in to Jasper’s begging. “She has been kind enough to agree to try and restore your sight again.”

_ Again?  _ The Arborian girl?

“This information will surely prove beneficial.” 

Clinical.

Artificial.

What had just changed?

“How long will you be gone?”

A pause.

“I do not know.”

Jasper didn’t want forgiveness.

Didn’t seek it.

But the footsteps were moving away. Fetching the healer and delivering the new information Jasper had given him.

And he was alone.

His heart beat.

The water dripped.

And he didn’t know when next he would have the company of a friendly voice.


	5. Earring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I can’t wear it as a ring,” El said, holding it up by the hook, “But I thought… Maybe you could help me pierce my ear?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place at the end of chapter 27.  
> Don’t pierce your ears in the middle of the woods, kids.  
> Also! THANK YOU for the earring idea, Addy!!!

“I made something.” 

Erik looked away from the edge of the knife he held, having been checking over the metal for any splintering. If there was anything that needed reforging, now was the time to get it done.

“Yeah?” It wasn’t anything unusual for El to suddenly give any one of them new gear. Nearly to the point now that they expected it. 

El did everything he could to keep them all as protected as possible, and over time it had become easier and easier to accept his gifts without a second thought, as difficult as it had been in the beginning, El practically a stranger who asked nothing in return for his handiwork. 

But…

There were no folded clothes in El’s hands. No sheathed dagger or a blade in sight.

Instead, something very small held carefully in one hand. “What’d you make?”

In the dim morning light, it took Erik a moment to identify what he saw. The smallest fling of metal, and something dangling down from it. “An earring?” He had his own, but they were small enough. Anything larger could begin to pose a threat in fights. Nothing serious, but a wrong move in the wrong environment, or a small monster getting just a little too close…

No one wanted to deal with a torn earlobe. 

“I can’t wear it as a ring,” El said, holding it up by the hook, “But I thought… Maybe you could help me pierce my ear?” 

_ “Oh.”  _ That was it. The silly little gift Erik had offered in place of an engagement ring… He’d still found a way to wear it. The feather itself was virtually unchanged, but had thin leather strands and a few simple beads that helped keep it in place on the hook. It didn’t look out of place for something Erik would’ve considered taking, years ago. “Yeah… Yeah, I can help you with that.”

El brightened tremendously. “Great! What do you need?” 

Sitting in a dusty campsite, Erik almost laughed. Until he realized that El was serious. “...You mean now?”

“Yeah?”

Erik sighed. Well. They did have Serena. If it got infected, El wouldn’t be losing an ear. “One of your sewing needles. The sharpest one you’ve got.”

A good half hour later, the sun just a little higher in the sky, and the needle just about as sterile as he could get it, El sat on the ground in front of him, while Erik tried to figure out exactly how to pierce an ear like El’s.

Or… “You’re gonna have to keep your ear still.” How to pierce one that wouldn’t stop twitching.

El muttered out an apology, and while the ear he was trying to work with went still, he could see the other still moving.

Good enough, he supposed.

But he could still feel the nerves that sent El all twitchy. “You know you don’t have to do this.”

“I want to.” El answered back. “‘m just a little scared.”

Understandably. But at least he was being honest. Erik knew first hand what it was like getting this done when you didn’t want it. But, hey… He liked his own earrings well enough now. “I promise,” Erik started slow, lining up the needle and holding El still, “Isn’t going to hurt at —  _ all.”  _ And in one single motion, punched it through, and before El had time to process the pain, threaded the hook through and locked the earring on. 

_ “Shit!”  _ El cursed the moment it was finished. “I thought you said-”

“Sorry.” Erik said, looking over the puncture for any bleeding or bruising… though he wasn’t sure if scales like this did bruise. “You were getting nervous. The more scared you are, the more it’ll hurt.” There weren't any. One clean piercing, done. Now all El had to do was keep it clean.

“Is that true?”

“I think so. Can’t be sure, though. I’ve only done it twice.” He’d been scared out of his wits, but in the end it was just a pinch. “Does it really hurt that much?”

“No… It’s not that bad.” El said, gingerly touching just around the new earring. “How does it look?”

The end of the feather fell just above the slope of his shoulder, and with his hair tucked behind his ear, it was the first thing Erik noticed. 

That, and the fact the color clashed terribly with his purple duster. “It looks great.” He smiled, and El smiled back.

Grinning, fangs and all in a smile that scrunched up around his eyes.

And if it was even possible, Erik could swear he fell in love again. 


End file.
